Falcons at Saints

This will be the second time this year Julio Jones and Marshon Lattimore go head to head. Earlier this week both players were announced as Pro Bowlers. The rookie Lattimore held his own during the first matchup in Week 14. One of the big differences this time, is the game will be in New Orleans instead of Atlanta. It is very hard to beat the Saints in New Orleans and having the home crowd in their favor could be a difference with the performance of the Falcons players.

In Week 14, Jones caught three of five targets for 73 yards and no touchdowns when covered by Lattimore. When being covered by another player, Jones had two catches for 25 yards. I would say the scale slightly tipped in the favor of Jones during the first matchup. Jones sits at third in the NFL with 1,215 receiving yards, but it had been one heck of a roller coaster season. He only has three games with 100 or more receiving yards, one of which was a colossal 12 catch, 253 yard performance in Week 12. Tampa Bay was not able to stop Jones during that matchup, but was able to make adjustments and hold him to three catches for 54 yards last week. Will the Saints be able to make the adjustments and take Jones out of the game plan this time around?

Lattimore is going to be amped up for this matchup. The Saints are at home, with the division on the line and Lattimore was just announced as a Pro Bowler. He is going to give one of his best performances of the year. Jones may have gotten the better of Lattimore during the last matchup, even if it was by a slight edge. He also had an interception and help Matt Ryan to a 64.6 rating when he threw the ball his way. Overall this season, Lattimore is the fourth overall CB according to Pro Football Focus, with a grade of 91.7. Wide Receivers have only had a rating of 37.5 when lining up across from Lattimore this season. You’ll see plenty of spotlights highlighting these two on Sunday.

What to watch for:

This is going to be a matchup we see for many more years. This matchup has direct implications on the NFC South and Wild Card. The Saints will need a win to keep pace with the Panthers while the Falcons are just a game behind the two. Jones actually has pedestrian numbers against the Saints during his career. He has 1011 yards in 12 games against the Saints, good for 84.25 yards per game. That is the least amount of yards Jones has against any NFC South opponent. The road ahead doesn’t appear to be any brighter with Lattimore patrolling one side of the field. I have been selling on Jones for quite some time now. He is still a very good receiver, but for fantasy purposes, I don’t see him as a top five WR anymore. I think Lattimore will also get the best of Jones in this matchup as well.

Dolphins at Chiefs

The Dolphins are not playing for anything this week. The Chiefs have finally reemerged in the AFC South after a disappointing middle portion of the season. The Dolphins still want to play spoiler for teams looking to move on, but going into Arrowhead and getting a win will be difficult to do. For as bad as the Dolphins offense has been this year, there has been at least one bright spot.

Jarvis Landry continues to be one of the most underrated players in football. For fantasy football owners, his value used to lie within PPR leagues. He is a legit WR1 option in PPR leagues, finishing as the WR13 and WR9 the past two seasons and is currently the WR5. He is currently second in the league with 98 receptions, but 20th in receiving yards with 844. It’s odd that Landry is on pace to break his career high in receptions but has his lowest yard totals since his rookie season. The reason is a career low in yards per reception. Landry has a career average of 10.5 yards per reception but is only averaging 8.6 in 2017. He has been able to supplement the yards with a career high in touchdowns. If Landry can catch two TDs in the next two weeks, he could finish with double digit TDs for the first time.

Kansas City is giving up an average of 256.6 receiving yards per game in 2017, 26th in the NFL. This is their lowest ranking since 2005 when they gave up 241.4 yards a game and ranked 29th. It’s safe to say the Chiefs are missing Eric Berry who went down with an Achilles injury in Week 1 against New England. Marcus Peters is back to himself this year after a disappointing 2016. He is currently tied for third in the NFL with five interceptions and currently has a grade of 83.8 by Pro Football Focus, 23rd overall for CBs. His attitude has been less then desired by the Chiefs and fans this season. He was suspended two weeks ago after throwing a referee’s flag into the stands during a loss to the Jets.

What to watch for:

I am expecting a big day for Landry and not just because he is playing in one of my championship matchups. Peters will be shadowing either Kenny Stills or Devante Parker on the outside and won’t be near Landry in the slot. The passing game for the Dolphins will be in full effect on Sunday to keep up with the Chiefs who seem to be clicking on all cylinders again. Landry may not get a touchdown in this matchup, but the receptions and yards will more than likely be there. These are the kind of matchups that receivers need to dominate in order to taken seriously as a WR1 by fantasy owners. When you have a plus matchup, take advantage.